North Manchester, Ind. - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) concluded the 2024 Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the campus of Manchester University, at Spartan Stadium.
The Manchester University Spartans earned the title of 2024 HCAC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Champions scoring a total of 223 points. The Fightin' Engineers of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the defending champions of the HCAC outdoor title finished in second place with a total of 206 points. Followed by the Beavers of Bluffton University who claim third place with a total of 98.50 points.
Championship Superlatives:
Men’s Newcomer of the Year:
Kenneth Redd, Manchester
Men’s Most Outstanding Throws Athlete of the Year:
Gabriel Hendricks, Manchester
Men’s Most Outstanding Jumps Athlete of the Year:
Desmond Gist, Bluffton
Men’s Most Outstanding Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year:
Jailen Hobbs, Rose-Hulman
Men’s Most Outstanding Distance Athlete of the Year:
Enrique Salazar, Manchester
Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year: Manchester University, led by head coach
Brian Cashdollar. Assistant Coaches are:
Hannah Didion, Sam Katon, and
Andre White.
All-Conference Honors:
Each athlete and relay team that finished their respective events in First Place are named to the First Team HCAC All-Conference; Second Place finishers are named to the Second Team HCAC All-Conference; and Third Place finishers are named to the Honorable Mention HCAC All-Conference Teams.
Event-by-event thumbnail:
The men’s javelin throw opened up the day on the men’s side, which resulted in
Logan McIntosh of Franklin College claimed the title with a distance of 50.51 meters.
Rose-Hulman's
Kyle Brownell claimed the high jump event with 1.98 meters.
In the men's triple jump,
Timothy Youndt of Rose-Hulman claimed the title with a distance of 14.53 meters, ranking him at 13th in the nation.
Antoine Cooper of Rose-Hulman won the champion of the men’s discus with a throw of 46.14 meters and also was voted the Men’s Most Outstanding Throws Athlete of the Year.
The men’s 4x100 meter relay was a highly contested race from start to finish but resulted in Manchester’s team of
Gentry Oliver, Tristen Bronaugh, Duriel Moss Jr, and
Kenneth Redd becoming champions of the event. The Spartans posted a time of 42.45 seconds to best the competition.
The men’s 1500 meter run saw two Manchester Spartans finish at the top of the conference.
Enrique Salazar of Manchester became champion of the men’s 1500-meter run posting a blazing time of 4:08.00 followed by teammate
Gavin Byerly who finished in second place with a time of 4:08.64.
The men’s 110-meter hurdles champion is
Desmond Gist of Bluffton, who paced the field with a 14.63.
The men’s 400 meter dash champion was decided by .46 seconds which led to junior
Russell Lough of Bluffton University becoming the 400 meter dash champion posting a time of 48.51 seconds.
The men’s 100 meter dash saw the HCAC’s men’s most outstanding sprints/hurdles Athlete of the Year
Jailen Hobbs of Rose-Hulman atop the podium with a time of 10.25 seconds, ranking him #1 in DIII.
The men’s 800 meter run saw
Gavin Byerly of Manchester University pace the field blazing his path to the HCAC 800 meter title with a time of 1:59.06 seconds.
Cole Patton of Rose-Hulman found himself at the top of the HCAC podium in the men’s 400 meter hurdles with a time of 54.58 seconds.
The HCAC’s men’s most outstanding sprints/hurdles athlete of the year
Jailen Hobbs of Rose-Hulman was crowned champion in the men’s 200 meter dash with a time of 21.19 seconds, ranking him #4 in DIII.
Enrique Salazar of Manchester found himself atop the podium again later on day two.
Salazar won the men’s 5000 meter run with a time of 15:23.98.
The men’s 4x400 meter relay was the final men’s event of the day, which saw the Beavers of Bluffton finish in first place of the men’s 4x400 meter relay. The team of
Blayden McCoy,
Desmond Gist, Russel Lough, and
Simon Shawk posted a time of 3:20.63, which was enough for the HCAC championship and ranked #52 in DIII.
Men’s Team Final Standings
- Manchester 223
- Rose-Hulman 206
- Bluffton 98.50
- Hanover 90
- Anderson 49
- Franklin 27
- Transylvania 32.50
- Mount St. Joseph 19
- Defiance 14
For more information on HCAC men's outdoor track and field, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.